Star Wars. A saga of epic proportions. A story that encompasses a little something for everyone. Adventure, love, starships, lightsabers and even adoptive parents. Wait, huh? Adoptive parents were in Star Wars? Oh yes, they were and they were about as important to the story line as the stealing of the Death Star plans were in a New Hope. For this article, let us remain in the world of the original Star Wars films, the ones untarnished by Jar Jar Binks.

As we celebrate May the Fourth, I am reminded of the characters that helped shape me. I remember the Halloween when, as a ten-year-old, I dressed up as Luke Skywalker and was heartbroken and discouraged when no one knew who I was all night. Read More

“I could use a little extra support, I’m having a hard time with my 3 year old.”

It was impressive when Abigail Sharp, Senior Director of Child Abuse Prevention at SAFE, shared that they receive a lot of self-referrals to their Strong Start prevention program. It takes a lot of courage to admit you need help with parenting, or that you’re concerned about becoming frustrated and potentially harming your child. Read More

In the state of Texas, there are nearly 79,000 victims of sex trafficking under the age of 18, according to a study published in January by the Institute on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault (IDVSA) at the University of Texas. When numbers are that large, it can be difficult to reconcile that each represents a child being exploited through prostitution, pornography or other sexual acts so that a trafficker can profit off of them. It can be difficult to think that this is happening in our country, in our state, in our community. Read More

"I've always felt called to be engaged and giving of support," said Becky Dickson. For Becky, this took many forms, volunteering at her kids' school, serving as a Deacon with her church and becoming a Stephen Minister. In the Stephen Ministry, she was trained to walk alongside people during difficult times in their lives, such as job loss, death in the family, or divorce, to be an outlet for them and listen without judgment.

Once her time as a Stephen Minister came to a close, a conversation during bible study at her church compelled her to become a CASA volunteer... Read More

We can’t possibly appreciate volunteers enough. Our volunteers selflessly give their time and seemingly endless compassion to help give children a better life. Being a CASA volunteer is a difficult job and sometimes it is a thankless one. It’s an important job, though, and volunteers change the lives of children every single day.